Elderly Ventura woman scammed out of large amount of money

Ventura police are asking for help finding a man they said took a large amount of cash from an elderly woman.

Police said the 90-year-old woman received numerous phone calls from an unidentified man during the week leading up to Tuesday. The man asked the woman for help with what he said was an internal investigation at the local branch of a bank, police said.

The man asked the woman to withdraw a large amount of cash from her bank at midday Tuesday. The woman was told to take the money to the parking lot of the Pacific View mall and wait for an associate of the man to take the money, police said.

Police said the woman did as she was instructed.

A man approached her vehicle while she sat in the parking lot at the mall and asked her for the money, police said.

The woman gave the man the money and drove home, police said.

The woman contacted her bank later that day and discovered she had been the victim of a scam.

Police are asking anyone with information on this incident or similar incidents to contact them at 339-4400.